Have you ever observed a tradition and not known quite why? This might be a family tradition, a personal habit, or a church related ritual. You know something fits this category when someone new observes it, asks why you do it that way, and you respond with an answer like "that's the way we always have done it" or "that's the way my parents did it" or even "that's the right way to do it." All of those answers should immediately alert you to the fact that what you're doing is a ritual, tradition, or habit that you do without much understanding of why you do it.
Possibly even worse than observing some practice, ritual, or habit without understanding is finding out the reason behind the particular tradition only to discover the reason is a poor one. For example, my wife grew up singing the song "Lord I Lift Your Name on High" (Lyrics with Music), with a certain set of motions. The origin of those motions, it turns out, came in part out of teens mocking and ridiculing others (if you would like the full story, ask her about it). Needless to say once she found out this fact, it kinda ruined the song for her.
I suspect that for many of us, Sunday mornings are filled with many of these rituals, habits, traditions, etc. that we have no real understanding of. Hopefully these practices aren't like the above song motions, but rather have good reasons behind them. One such practice is the observance of Palm Sunday. Luke's account of the event (Luke 19:28-40) contains the Mount of Olives, a donkey, palm branches, cloaks, and stones. Many Christians would be hard pressed to explain what significance all, some, or any of these things have. To help answer those questions the below list briefly explains the purpose/meaning behind each of the above:
Mount of Olives - Zechariah 14:4 says that the Messiah would come from the Mount of Olives to enter Jerusalem.
Donkey - Zechariah 9:9 says that the Messiah would come riding a donkey.
Palm Branches - these were common to the area, and they symbolized victory.
Cloaks - 2 Kings 9:13 says that the people laid their cloaks down on the ground before King Jehu.
Stones - symbolic of creation and creation's affirmation of Jesus as Messiah.
It's the last symbol, the stones that symbolize creation, that I would like to focus on. The stones are unique to Luke's account of Palm Sunday, they carry an important message for us. The stones represent creation's steadfast witness to Jesus as Messiah. The whole point of the Palm Sunday story is that Jesus is in fact the Messiah, the one who would come to bring salvation and redemption for all humanity. The problem for the people of that first Palm Sunday, who stood in the crowd shouting and proclaiming this fact, was that Jesus was not the kind of Messiah they wanted him to be. They wanted a king who would be victorious in battle, and set up an earthly kingdom. What they got was a suffering servant who died on a cross to set up an everlasting kingdom.
Fast forward to Good Friday, and only creation is willing to procclaim Jesus as Messiah. We are told that as Jesus died there was an earthquake and that the curtain in the temple was torn in two (Matthew 27:50-51). During his final moments the crowd had scattered, his disciples only observed from a distance, and truly only creation was willing to proclaim Jesus as Messiah!
The question for you, now that you know some of the meaning behind the ritual, some of the method behind the madness, is will you remain with the crowd or will you join those stones in proclaiming Jesus as Messiah. Will you scatter during Good Friday, avoiding the cross, or observing from a distance, or will you draw near and witness to a suffering servant, a crucified Messiah?
Grace & Peace,
Pastor John
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Sermon Sampler (March 21st) - You Might be a Christian If...
Faith
The final installment of our Lenten Series finds to no great suprise that the number one indicator that a person is a Christian would be his or her faith. To quickly summarize, we simply defined "faith" with the word "trust". Since the Greek word (pistis - translated "faith" in your Bibles) and the Latin word (fides - from which our English word "faith" comes from) both mean "trust" it seemed like a simple, appropriate, and easily understood definition. Secondly we affirmed that faith necessarily implies action. For example I can look at a chair and believe that it will hold my weight. I can even tell others about said chair's potential ability to hold my weight. But until I actually sit down on the chair I have yet to display my faith in it's ability to hold my weight.
So faith simply means trust, and necessarily implies some action upon that trust. Furthermore we recognized that a person's faith (or lack of faith) can most clearly be seen during a time of crisis or hardship. For example the man who loses his job but has faith in God, will procclaim God's care and future plan for his life (depsite losing said job). A similar man without faith (or with a lack of faith) will not make such statements but rather focus on the lost job and the implications (no money, no food, no security, etc.). Jesus understood this fact and uses it as a teaching point about the virtues of faith in the following passage Matthew 6:25-34. In this passage Jesus suggests that to "worry" betrays a lack of faith. He suggests that the person with strong faith will not worry about the little things (food and clothing) and instead be freed to focus on what's really important (The Kingdom of God).
Finally I remarked that faith is primarily about who your faith is in. For Christians that "who" is Jesus. But just like many things in life, faith in Christ is something you must find for yourself. It's similar to finding a good doctor. You can hear others tell you about how great their doctor is, but until you go and find out for yourself, you will never trust that doctor.
I would like to close with a story about a tightrope walker. The man was walking across Niagra Falls, and as he was preparing for his act, a huge crowd had gathered. Upon walking across the falls on the tightrope, the man turned around and asked the people if they believed he could cross the falls. Having just seen him perform the feat, the crowd enthusiastically cheered "Yes!" Next the man walked across the falls pushing a wheelbarrow, and again asked the crowd if they believed he could cross pushing a wheelbarrow. Having just seen him do that very thing, they again loudly proclaimed "Yes!" Finally the tightrope walker crossed the falls pushing the wheelbarrow with his friend in it. This time he asked if they believed he could cross the falls pushing a wheelbarrow with a person in it. The crowd louder than ever shouted "YES!" To which the man replied "Who's next?"
Jesus is that tightrope walker. You and I are in the crowd. We've seen him walk across the rope, and even seen him carry others across the falls. The question is are you going to step out of the crowd and let him do the same for you, or will you remain in the crowd?
Grace & Peace,
Pastor John
The final installment of our Lenten Series finds to no great suprise that the number one indicator that a person is a Christian would be his or her faith. To quickly summarize, we simply defined "faith" with the word "trust". Since the Greek word (pistis - translated "faith" in your Bibles) and the Latin word (fides - from which our English word "faith" comes from) both mean "trust" it seemed like a simple, appropriate, and easily understood definition. Secondly we affirmed that faith necessarily implies action. For example I can look at a chair and believe that it will hold my weight. I can even tell others about said chair's potential ability to hold my weight. But until I actually sit down on the chair I have yet to display my faith in it's ability to hold my weight.
So faith simply means trust, and necessarily implies some action upon that trust. Furthermore we recognized that a person's faith (or lack of faith) can most clearly be seen during a time of crisis or hardship. For example the man who loses his job but has faith in God, will procclaim God's care and future plan for his life (depsite losing said job). A similar man without faith (or with a lack of faith) will not make such statements but rather focus on the lost job and the implications (no money, no food, no security, etc.). Jesus understood this fact and uses it as a teaching point about the virtues of faith in the following passage Matthew 6:25-34. In this passage Jesus suggests that to "worry" betrays a lack of faith. He suggests that the person with strong faith will not worry about the little things (food and clothing) and instead be freed to focus on what's really important (The Kingdom of God).
Finally I remarked that faith is primarily about who your faith is in. For Christians that "who" is Jesus. But just like many things in life, faith in Christ is something you must find for yourself. It's similar to finding a good doctor. You can hear others tell you about how great their doctor is, but until you go and find out for yourself, you will never trust that doctor.
I would like to close with a story about a tightrope walker. The man was walking across Niagra Falls, and as he was preparing for his act, a huge crowd had gathered. Upon walking across the falls on the tightrope, the man turned around and asked the people if they believed he could cross the falls. Having just seen him perform the feat, the crowd enthusiastically cheered "Yes!" Next the man walked across the falls pushing a wheelbarrow, and again asked the crowd if they believed he could cross pushing a wheelbarrow. Having just seen him do that very thing, they again loudly proclaimed "Yes!" Finally the tightrope walker crossed the falls pushing the wheelbarrow with his friend in it. This time he asked if they believed he could cross the falls pushing a wheelbarrow with a person in it. The crowd louder than ever shouted "YES!" To which the man replied "Who's next?"
Jesus is that tightrope walker. You and I are in the crowd. We've seen him walk across the rope, and even seen him carry others across the falls. The question is are you going to step out of the crowd and let him do the same for you, or will you remain in the crowd?
Grace & Peace,
Pastor John
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Sermon Sampler (March 14th) - You Might be a Christian if...
Peace
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid." (John 14:27)
Jesus said these words to his disciples, mere hours before he was betrayed, arrested, beaten and killed. They are a part of his parting words of advice to his followers. But as I read them (as well as other passages in scripture) I find myself wondering how these words can really be applied to "real life".
For example, life is filled with stress and chaos. There is family stress, community stress, job stress, and these are just to point to the "smaller" things in the world. You can't turn on your television or look at a newspaper without hearing about another earthquake, hurricane, tsunami, or conflict going on throughout the world. It is in light of all of this stress, chaos, and despair that I often wonder how contemporary Christians are supposed to read such words proclaiming peace and not laugh (or cry) at such a suggestion.
But if we look at this word "peace" a little more it should be noted that the Hebrew and Greek foundations of this concept speak to an inward order in the face of outward chaos. If we further remember the chaos that was surrounding Jesus' life at the time he said these words, we can see that he was not speaking within the context of some fairy tale, but rather was living in very real stress and chaos. No, the peace offered in the above quote is a peace that is not dependent upon outward circumstances. It is a peace that exists inspite of chaos and stress. It is very truly a spiritual peace, that as the Apostle Paul says, "transcends all understanding" (Philippians 4:7).
Now in case you are worried that you're not quite getting all of this, or if you fear that you don't experience a peace like this when life gets crazy/stressful/overwhelming, don't feel bad. This isn't a hallmark of a beginning Christian, but rather is an indicator of a mature Christian.
Jesus begins this proclamation of peace by talking about the Holy Spirit, who will come in his absence and offer this comfort and peace (John 14:25-27). The key to this whole conversation about peace is not necessarily the peace, but rather the relationship that yields this peace. The key is the relationship in God that brings about this peace. Therefore if you find that you don't experience this peace when life's storms are raging, or that you don't experience this peace near enough, then this is an indication that you'r relationship with God could stand to be strengthened.
In light of all this, I would leave you with Jesus' words of promise to his disciples, encouraging you to realize that the promise is the same for you...
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid."
Grace & Peace,
Pastor John
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid." (John 14:27)
Jesus said these words to his disciples, mere hours before he was betrayed, arrested, beaten and killed. They are a part of his parting words of advice to his followers. But as I read them (as well as other passages in scripture) I find myself wondering how these words can really be applied to "real life".
For example, life is filled with stress and chaos. There is family stress, community stress, job stress, and these are just to point to the "smaller" things in the world. You can't turn on your television or look at a newspaper without hearing about another earthquake, hurricane, tsunami, or conflict going on throughout the world. It is in light of all of this stress, chaos, and despair that I often wonder how contemporary Christians are supposed to read such words proclaiming peace and not laugh (or cry) at such a suggestion.
But if we look at this word "peace" a little more it should be noted that the Hebrew and Greek foundations of this concept speak to an inward order in the face of outward chaos. If we further remember the chaos that was surrounding Jesus' life at the time he said these words, we can see that he was not speaking within the context of some fairy tale, but rather was living in very real stress and chaos. No, the peace offered in the above quote is a peace that is not dependent upon outward circumstances. It is a peace that exists inspite of chaos and stress. It is very truly a spiritual peace, that as the Apostle Paul says, "transcends all understanding" (Philippians 4:7).
Now in case you are worried that you're not quite getting all of this, or if you fear that you don't experience a peace like this when life gets crazy/stressful/overwhelming, don't feel bad. This isn't a hallmark of a beginning Christian, but rather is an indicator of a mature Christian.
Jesus begins this proclamation of peace by talking about the Holy Spirit, who will come in his absence and offer this comfort and peace (John 14:25-27). The key to this whole conversation about peace is not necessarily the peace, but rather the relationship that yields this peace. The key is the relationship in God that brings about this peace. Therefore if you find that you don't experience this peace when life's storms are raging, or that you don't experience this peace near enough, then this is an indication that you'r relationship with God could stand to be strengthened.
In light of all this, I would leave you with Jesus' words of promise to his disciples, encouraging you to realize that the promise is the same for you...
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid."
Grace & Peace,
Pastor John
Monday, March 8, 2010
Sermon Sampler (March 7th) - You Might be a Christian if...
Kindness
It would seem that there are two different types of kindness in the world. There's the "he's so kind, he wouldn't even hurt a fly" type of kindness and then there's the "he's so kind, he would give you the shirt off his back" type. The first type is passive, in that the person who's kind is kind by not doing something mean. The second type is active, in that the kind person goes out of his or her way to be kind to others.
It is this latter type of kindness that I'm suggesting makes up the character of a Christian, and is indeed the kindness that Jesus presents in his parable the Good Samartian (Luke 10:25-37). If you are unfamiliar with the story, it begins with a man (nothing else is told about him) on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho (a particularly treacherous road) being robbed, stripped, and beaten half to death. At this point, as luck would have it, a priest comes along. Contrary to expectation though, the priest crosses to the other side of the road and continues on his way. Next a Levite comes by, and again the result is disappointing as he too crosses to the other side of the path and passes by the dying man. Now it's important to realize that both the priest and the Levite are the "good guys" of the culture and time. They would be like a police officer and a fire fighter in our contemporary context. They would be expected to help the man, but yet in Jesus' story they do not. Finally a Samaritan comes by (these people were seen as at best unfavorable at the time, comparable to a hitch hiker for a motorist). Contrary to expectation the Samaritan stops, bandages the man, takes him to safety and then pays for his room and board until he is able to be on his way again.
Jesus uses this story (which wildly flips the expected roles of the characters) to emphasize who a person's neighbor is and should be (the answer is everyone). For our purposes this story also does a great job of illustrating what Christian kindness should look like.
Now I realize that many of us have no problem being kind to those who are first kind to us, or at least those who aren't mean to us, but we struggle when it comes to being kind to our unkind (or even mean) "neighbors". I'd like to offer some help with this particular dilemma. I had an incident the other night where a person woke me up around 2:30-3:00ish. This person then proceeded to scream and yell at me, and even hit and kicked me! If this was not bad enough, the person also tried to bite me! Now I'm sure you're wondering how I reacted. How would you react to such rude, mean, and violent behavior? Well I continued to hug this person, I sang him a song or two, I even tried to get him to go to sleep in my own bed! Hopefully you're beginning to realize that this was my 8 month old son. Of course you think I'm cheating now. You're likely saying that that's different, that he's a baby. But is it?
The next time someone is being especially un-loveable around you, just imagine him or her as a cute little baby (possibly throwing a bit of a temper tantrum). Most people are able to easily love babies, and quickly will forgive and forget any wrongs that said baby may have done to them, but struggle to give an adult even the benefit of the doubt, let alone show them kindness. Try and remember that we were all cute, adorable, loveable babies at one time. Try to imagine that person once again as a baby, and remember that Jesus calls us to be kind and show our kindness in an active way that goes above and beyond the norm.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor John
Christian Homework #3: Go out to eat this week, someplace where you'll be waited on. Regardless of service (good, bad, indifferent) tip the waiter or waitress well. Remember that as Christians we are called to show our kindness in an active way that goes above and beyond the norm! If you find yourself struggling to be kind to this person, just imagine them as a cute little baby! ;)
It would seem that there are two different types of kindness in the world. There's the "he's so kind, he wouldn't even hurt a fly" type of kindness and then there's the "he's so kind, he would give you the shirt off his back" type. The first type is passive, in that the person who's kind is kind by not doing something mean. The second type is active, in that the kind person goes out of his or her way to be kind to others.
It is this latter type of kindness that I'm suggesting makes up the character of a Christian, and is indeed the kindness that Jesus presents in his parable the Good Samartian (Luke 10:25-37). If you are unfamiliar with the story, it begins with a man (nothing else is told about him) on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho (a particularly treacherous road) being robbed, stripped, and beaten half to death. At this point, as luck would have it, a priest comes along. Contrary to expectation though, the priest crosses to the other side of the road and continues on his way. Next a Levite comes by, and again the result is disappointing as he too crosses to the other side of the path and passes by the dying man. Now it's important to realize that both the priest and the Levite are the "good guys" of the culture and time. They would be like a police officer and a fire fighter in our contemporary context. They would be expected to help the man, but yet in Jesus' story they do not. Finally a Samaritan comes by (these people were seen as at best unfavorable at the time, comparable to a hitch hiker for a motorist). Contrary to expectation the Samaritan stops, bandages the man, takes him to safety and then pays for his room and board until he is able to be on his way again.
Jesus uses this story (which wildly flips the expected roles of the characters) to emphasize who a person's neighbor is and should be (the answer is everyone). For our purposes this story also does a great job of illustrating what Christian kindness should look like.
Now I realize that many of us have no problem being kind to those who are first kind to us, or at least those who aren't mean to us, but we struggle when it comes to being kind to our unkind (or even mean) "neighbors". I'd like to offer some help with this particular dilemma. I had an incident the other night where a person woke me up around 2:30-3:00ish. This person then proceeded to scream and yell at me, and even hit and kicked me! If this was not bad enough, the person also tried to bite me! Now I'm sure you're wondering how I reacted. How would you react to such rude, mean, and violent behavior? Well I continued to hug this person, I sang him a song or two, I even tried to get him to go to sleep in my own bed! Hopefully you're beginning to realize that this was my 8 month old son. Of course you think I'm cheating now. You're likely saying that that's different, that he's a baby. But is it?
The next time someone is being especially un-loveable around you, just imagine him or her as a cute little baby (possibly throwing a bit of a temper tantrum). Most people are able to easily love babies, and quickly will forgive and forget any wrongs that said baby may have done to them, but struggle to give an adult even the benefit of the doubt, let alone show them kindness. Try and remember that we were all cute, adorable, loveable babies at one time. Try to imagine that person once again as a baby, and remember that Jesus calls us to be kind and show our kindness in an active way that goes above and beyond the norm.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor John
Christian Homework #3: Go out to eat this week, someplace where you'll be waited on. Regardless of service (good, bad, indifferent) tip the waiter or waitress well. Remember that as Christians we are called to show our kindness in an active way that goes above and beyond the norm! If you find yourself struggling to be kind to this person, just imagine them as a cute little baby! ;)
Monday, March 1, 2010
Sermon Sampler (February 28th) - You Might be a Christian if...
JOY
You can divide people up into many different categories or classifications (think male/female, young/old, rich/poor, etc) but I'm fairly certain that one grouping that most all people would readily identify with is cats/dogs. Most people when asked will either say they are a "cat person" or a "dog person". I would almost certainly identify with the latter.
Dogs are loyal, you can train them, you can play games with them, and they are infinitely more open to human affection than cats. Seriously, dogs are famous for being loyal, while cats are famous for at best being indifferent. Dogs are commonly trained to do amazing things, while a person is lucky if they can train their cat to use the litter box. If you throw an object a dog will instinctively go and fetch it, if do that with a cat they may or may not even look up to see what you're doing!
As I said, this is how I would typically identify myself, as a dog person, with one exception...Fonzy. Not the character on Happy Days, although he was a cool guy for sure. No, the Fonzy I'm talking about was my cat. He was actually my replacement cat, because my first cat (who's name I don't even remember) ran out the front door and got hit by a car. I got Fonzy when I was 2 and had him until I was 23!
Now it might be because he was around for so long, or because he was basically raised by a dog (he came to us as a kitten), or maybe just because he was MY pet, but Fonzy was special. He actually wanted to be around people. He loved attention, and seemed to genuinely miss us when we were away. He was incredibly tolerant of my sister and I, even when we tied string around his neck and took him for "walks". Needless to say I loved him, and thought he was the greatest pet ever. That's why it was so much worse when, at the age of 9, Fonzy vanished!
We put up flyers and placed ads in the paper. We even offered a reward! But the days turned into weeks, and soon our family had lost all hope. My parents tried to comfort my sister and I, they even offered to get a new cat, but we knew no new cat would be Fonzy. Then one day the phone rang. The voice on the other end mentioned seeing our ad in the newspaper. She had found a cat that matched the description. He had been hit by a car, but she had nursed him back to health! Fonzy was found and returned!
If you've ever lost something (a wallet, book, pet, etc.) and then found it later, you know the joy that I felt when we found Fonzy. It's that same joy that in part describes the life of a Christian. It's the joy that occurs when something lost has been restored. Jesus speaks of this joy in relationship to Christians when he tells the parables of the "Lost Sheep" and the "Lost Coin" (Luke 15:1-10). In these parables Jesus teaches about the reality that humanity has lost something and upon finding it should indeed be filled with joy.
As Christians we realize that what was lost was wholeness, relationship with our Creator, living life knowing we are forgiven and loved unconditionally. Unfortunately most of the world doesn't even realize that they've lost anything, and therefore the joy that embodies the Christian life seems strange and foreign to the world. Our joy stands out in stark contrast to a cold and hurting world. Furthermore, this joy is not dependant upon a person's situation or circumstances since it is a joy that finds its roots in God's ever present love. So it would be completely appropriate for a Christian in the midst of beatings and imprisonment to still be singing hymns of praise to God (here).
The joy connected to Christians in Scripture is not only a joy felt within but it is a joy that is inspired within others by Christians. The Greek word for joy (chara) not only means "joy" but it also speaks to the "cause or occasion of one's joy". In other words, when the Bible lists "joy" as one of the Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), it is also speaking of the reality that the joy within a Christian causes joy within others (including God)!
What does all of this mean? It means that part of being a Christian is realizing that somewhere along the way we as humans have lost something, but that in Christ that something lost can be regained. It means that fundamental to Christian life is a deep inner joy that shines through regardless of our circumstances because God's love for us is a constant and known reality. Finally it means that this joy that comes from within is also the very real cause and inspiration for other's joy and that most of all our loving and redeeming God is filled with joy because of us. So you might be a Christian if you have joy.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor John
Lenten Homework #2 - Give up something you really enjoy this week (coffee, chocolate, tv, etc), then on Sunday have that thing again. The pure JOY that you feel as you experience that thing after abstaining from it for a whole week is the joy that you should experience every day in your life as a Christian.
You can divide people up into many different categories or classifications (think male/female, young/old, rich/poor, etc) but I'm fairly certain that one grouping that most all people would readily identify with is cats/dogs. Most people when asked will either say they are a "cat person" or a "dog person". I would almost certainly identify with the latter.
Dogs are loyal, you can train them, you can play games with them, and they are infinitely more open to human affection than cats. Seriously, dogs are famous for being loyal, while cats are famous for at best being indifferent. Dogs are commonly trained to do amazing things, while a person is lucky if they can train their cat to use the litter box. If you throw an object a dog will instinctively go and fetch it, if do that with a cat they may or may not even look up to see what you're doing!
As I said, this is how I would typically identify myself, as a dog person, with one exception...Fonzy. Not the character on Happy Days, although he was a cool guy for sure. No, the Fonzy I'm talking about was my cat. He was actually my replacement cat, because my first cat (who's name I don't even remember) ran out the front door and got hit by a car. I got Fonzy when I was 2 and had him until I was 23!
Now it might be because he was around for so long, or because he was basically raised by a dog (he came to us as a kitten), or maybe just because he was MY pet, but Fonzy was special. He actually wanted to be around people. He loved attention, and seemed to genuinely miss us when we were away. He was incredibly tolerant of my sister and I, even when we tied string around his neck and took him for "walks". Needless to say I loved him, and thought he was the greatest pet ever. That's why it was so much worse when, at the age of 9, Fonzy vanished!
We put up flyers and placed ads in the paper. We even offered a reward! But the days turned into weeks, and soon our family had lost all hope. My parents tried to comfort my sister and I, they even offered to get a new cat, but we knew no new cat would be Fonzy. Then one day the phone rang. The voice on the other end mentioned seeing our ad in the newspaper. She had found a cat that matched the description. He had been hit by a car, but she had nursed him back to health! Fonzy was found and returned!
If you've ever lost something (a wallet, book, pet, etc.) and then found it later, you know the joy that I felt when we found Fonzy. It's that same joy that in part describes the life of a Christian. It's the joy that occurs when something lost has been restored. Jesus speaks of this joy in relationship to Christians when he tells the parables of the "Lost Sheep" and the "Lost Coin" (Luke 15:1-10). In these parables Jesus teaches about the reality that humanity has lost something and upon finding it should indeed be filled with joy.
As Christians we realize that what was lost was wholeness, relationship with our Creator, living life knowing we are forgiven and loved unconditionally. Unfortunately most of the world doesn't even realize that they've lost anything, and therefore the joy that embodies the Christian life seems strange and foreign to the world. Our joy stands out in stark contrast to a cold and hurting world. Furthermore, this joy is not dependant upon a person's situation or circumstances since it is a joy that finds its roots in God's ever present love. So it would be completely appropriate for a Christian in the midst of beatings and imprisonment to still be singing hymns of praise to God (here).
The joy connected to Christians in Scripture is not only a joy felt within but it is a joy that is inspired within others by Christians. The Greek word for joy (chara) not only means "joy" but it also speaks to the "cause or occasion of one's joy". In other words, when the Bible lists "joy" as one of the Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), it is also speaking of the reality that the joy within a Christian causes joy within others (including God)!
What does all of this mean? It means that part of being a Christian is realizing that somewhere along the way we as humans have lost something, but that in Christ that something lost can be regained. It means that fundamental to Christian life is a deep inner joy that shines through regardless of our circumstances because God's love for us is a constant and known reality. Finally it means that this joy that comes from within is also the very real cause and inspiration for other's joy and that most of all our loving and redeeming God is filled with joy because of us. So you might be a Christian if you have joy.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor John
Lenten Homework #2 - Give up something you really enjoy this week (coffee, chocolate, tv, etc), then on Sunday have that thing again. The pure JOY that you feel as you experience that thing after abstaining from it for a whole week is the joy that you should experience every day in your life as a Christian.
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